Los Angeles Jury Trial Criminal Attorney
Over the last twenty-five years, I've done many jury trial, probably approaching two hundred. Believe it or not, there's a concise list of attorneys in criminal defense in my experience who have done jury trials.
Many attorneys are deal attorneys who only do a few jury trials and go in on cases to work out a deal for their clients. Of course, that does have some benefit because most cases are probably filed. After all, the prosecutors have good evidence against the defendants, and they should be resolved by negotiation and a plea deal.
The inability to conduct jury trials, lack of familiarity with them, or absence of the necessary success and skill is a significant weakness for a criminal defense attorney. The problem is, if a trial becomes necessary, you're left without the ability to handle it.
I have clients calling me all the time saying, I got this attorney. We did the preliminary hearing on the case, and now he's saying he can't do the jury trial. What kind of an attorney is that? In other words, the attorney has to have all the skills necessary to represent a client in the best possible way, so you've got to make sure that your attorney can do a jury trial and has a track record of success.
Another good point about jury trials is that even if a jury shouldn't try the case, there could be some issues in the case, and if you can point those issues out as a defense attorney to the prosecutors, these LA prosecutors will listen to you.
That's one of the factors they evaluate when offering a deal. Are there any triable issues? In other words, could we lose if a case was taken to trial? If they think they have a chance to fail, they will factor that in when they decide what the offer will be. I always point out to prosecutors – listen, you've got some problems here.
You won't prove certain things because there are areas for improvement in your case. Some witnesses have said conflicting things. Some people are incentivized to lie or have a bias towards a defendant. There are all sorts of different angles when it comes to a jury trial in Los Angeles in trying to win the case.
Sometimes, a win is convincing the prosecutor to give the client a lesser charge and keep him out of jail. Sometimes, a win is fighting the case in front of a jury and getting a not-guilty verdict, and sometimes, it's somewhere in between that.
It's crucial to have an attorney who can handle all aspects of your case, provide the necessary guidance to make the right decisions and educate you on how your criminal defense case should be handled.
Mechanics Of Winning A Jury Trial?
When you go into the jury trial, one of the first things you will do is pick a jury. So, you are going to want to have an attorney who is familiar with this. When I'm asking the jurors, one of the first questions I ask them is – hey, when you came in here today and saw my client sitting next to me, I assumed you realized he was charged with a crime.
Did you immediately think this guy must be guilty if they charged him? Believe it or not, many jurors raise their hands even though they are instructed that there's a presumption of innocence and they should assume the person is not guilty.
That right there begins the process of trying to win the case. That's a teachable moment for the jurors to say, hey, listen, we have a system here, and this is how it works. How would you like it if you were in trouble or one of your family members or friends was in trouble and they had a juror on the case who already thought they were guilty before they even heard any of the evidence?
Of course, nobody would want that. That's not fair. So, that's the beginning of the jurors' education process and the beginning of getting jurors that will be sympathetic towards our client's case and will listen and be fair when it comes to your argument, in the end, to try to get your client acquitted.
Cross-Examination of Witnesses
Another big thing in jury trials is an attorney who can effectively cross-examine the prosecutor's witnesses. Because the prosecutor has the burden in a jury trial, they must put on their evidence first.
As they present each piece of evidence through their witnesses, the defense attorney can cross-examine those witnesses. Being able to impeach them—show that they're not telling the truth, get their client's version of events across to the jury—is imperative if you have any chance of winning a jury trial.
As a defense attorney in a jury trial, if you can attack the prosecution's evidence sufficiently to make their witnesses not credible, you're now in a position in the closing argument to destroy their case and say to the jury – listen, how could you possibly find a guy guilty based on the evidence that the prosecutors have presented, based on witnesses who are not credible, who are not telling the truth, or are giving inconsistent and conflicting information? So, cross-examination is enormous in a jury trial in Los Angeles County.
Lawyer with Ability to Argue
The ability to argue effectively is not just important, it's crucial. It begins with the opening statement, where the defense presents the theory of their case. They inform the jury – this is our perspective on what happened, and this is what we'll demonstrate through the evidence.
After all is said and done, the ability to effectively argue is crucial. You must be able to make a compelling closing argument in front of the jury, reinforcing your client's innocence and referring back to the opening statement.
Say, I told you we would prove this, and look, we did. Then you go to the prosecution's evidence and attack and say, listen, this is what they presented; this is what they had to present to win, and they didn't show it. They are relying on this witness or that witness, and that witness's credibility is not good; therefore, there's no way you can find the client guilty.
Ultimately, a jury trial has many different parts and strategies, and only a few attorneys have experience.
So, when you sit down with your attorney, you better make sure that they've got jury trial experience, they know how to fight a case, they know how to win a case, and get a sense from that attorney when you sit down with him face-to-face, eye-ball to eye-ball, that they know what they are doing.
They are the person you would want representing you in front of the prosecutor, the judge, and even a jury, if necessary.
Related Videos
